Effects of stormwater sewer discharges on the aquatic community in urban canals in Lelystad

In urban areas with a separate sewerage system, the stormwater runoff is discharged into surface waters. A study on the effects of stormwater sewer discharges on the composition of the aquatic community in urban waters was carried out in two areas with a primarily residential use in the new town of Lelystad. The aquatic organisms considered included hydrophytes, epiphytic diatoms, filamentous algae and macroinvertebrates.The results indicate that the stormwater sewer discharges cause a slight change in the composition of the aquatic community. The water in the urban surface waters can be characterized as eutrophic and - toa-mesosaprobic. Near stormwater sewer outfalls the water tends to the more polluteda-mesosaprobic state. The shifts in the composition of the aquatic community could be traced primarily on the basis of a number of epiphytic diatoms and macroinvertebrates (in particular some Diptera and Trichoptera). Most hydrophytes, filamentous algae and the remaining epiphytic diatoms and macroinvertebrates (in particular water beetles and water mites) turned out to be of little or no use in this respect.Because the investigation was carried out in an unusually dry summer, the results probably underestimate the effects of stormwater discharges on the aquatic community.     

Interactive effects of rising temperatures and urbanisation on birds across different climate zones: A mechanistic perspective

Climate change and urbanisation are among the most pervasive and rapidly growing threats to biodiversity worldwide. However, their impacts are usually considered in isolation, and interactions are rarely examined. Predicting species' responses to the combined effects of climate change and urbanisation, therefore, represents a pressing challenge in global change biology. Birds are important model taxa for exploring the impacts of both climate change and urbanisation, and their behaviour and physiology have been well studied in urban and non-urban systems. This understanding should allow interactive effects of rising temperatures and urbanisation to be inferred, yet considerations of these interactions are almost entirely lacking from empirical research. Here, we synthesise our current understanding of the potential mechanisms that could affect how species respond to the combined effects of rising temperatures and urbanisation, with a focus on avian taxa. We discuss potential interactive effects to motivate future in-depth research on this critically important, yet overlooked, aspect of global change biology. Increased temperatures are a pronounced consequence of both urbanisation (through the urban heat island effect) and climate change. The biological impact of this warming in urban and non-urban systems will likely differ in magnitude and direction when interacting with other factors that typically vary between these habitats, such as resource availability (e.g. water, food and microsites) and pollution levels. Furthermore, the nature of such interactions may differ for cities situated in different climate types, for example, tropical, arid, temperate, continental and polar. Within this article, we highlight the potential for interactive effects of climate and urban drivers on the mechanistic responses of birds, identify knowledge gaps and propose promising future research avenues. A deeper understanding of the behavioural and physiological mechanisms mediating species' responses to urbanisation and rising temperatures will provide novel insights into ecology and evolution under global change and may help better predict future population responses.     

Three research priorities for just and sustainable urban systems: Now is the time to refocus

Now is the time to refocus efforts in urban research and design. A changing climate and extreme weather events are presenting unique challenges to urban systems around the world. These challenges illuminate the social barriers that accompany disruptive events such as resource inequities and injustices. In this perspective, we provide three research priorities for just and sustainable urban systems that help to address these matters. The three research priorities are: (1) social equity and justice, (2) circularity, and (3) digital twins. Conceptual context and future research directions are provided for each. For social equity and justice, the future directions are mandatory equity analysis and inclusionary practices, understanding and reconciling historical injustices, and intentional integration with diverse community stakeholders. For circularity applications, they are better metrics for integration, more robust evaluation frameworks, and dynamic modeling at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Future directions for digital twins include developing principles to reduce complexity, integrating model and system components, and reducing barriers to data access. These research priorities are core to meeting several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (i.e., 1—No Poverty, 8—Decent Work and Economic Growth, 10—Reduced Inequalities, and 11—Sustainable Cities and Communities). Useful social and technical matters are discussed throughout, where we highlight the importance of prioritizing localized research efforts, provide guidance for community-engaged research and co-development practices, and explain how these priorities interact to align with the evolving field of industrial ecology.     

Avian diversity and function across the world's most populous cities

Understanding the composition of urban wildlife communities is crucial to promote biodiversity, ecosystem function and links between nature and people. Using crowdsourced data from over five million eBird checklists, we examined the influence of urban characteristics on avian richness and function at 8443 sites within and across 137 global cities. Under half of the species from regional pools were recorded in cities, and we found a significant phylogenetic signal for urban tolerance. Site-level avian richness was positively influenced by the extent of open forest, cultivation and wetlands and avian functional diversity by wetlands. Functional diversity co-declined with richness, but groups including granivores and aquatic birds occurred even at species-poor sites. Cities in arid areas held a higher percentage of regional species richness. Our results indicate commonalities in the influence of habitat on richness and function, as well as lower niche availability, and phylogenetic diversity across the world's cities.     

Acoustic communities in an environmental gradient from native to urban areas in Central Brazil

As urban areas expand due to increasing human populations, natural habitats are diminishing in quantity and quality. We conducted a study to examine the response of diurnal acoustic communities along a gradient of environments, ranging from native to dense urban areas. We hypothesized that acoustic indices would decline with urbanization, transitioning from natural and rural areas to urban environments. We conducted the research in and around Brasília, Central Brazil. We deployed 24 digital recorders in native, rural, low-density and high-density urban areas. We employed five commonly used acoustic indices (ADI, ACI, NDSI, H and BI) to characterize the acoustic communities and represent the existing biodiversity numerically. We initially compared the index values across different land use types using a non-parametric rank sum test. Subsequently, we selected eight landscape metrics and performed a principal component analysis to summarize the surrounding matrix at each sampling point. We then employed generalized linear models to determine if the acoustic indices exhibited the anticipated variations. The results indicated significant variations in all indices among the different land use types, indicating their responsiveness to distinct acoustic communities and environmental characteristics. ADI, H and NDSI exhibited declining values from native to urban areas, while ACI and BI displayed the opposite trend. These findings underscore the influence of landscape structure on acoustic indices. Consequently, we concluded that adopting appropriate landscape planning, mainly through integrating natural and urban areas, could help preserve biodiversity in tropical urban regions.     

Plenty of rooftops with few neighbours occupied by young breeding Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis): Does this occur at the expense of their health condition?

Gulls, as largely flexible opportunistic individuals, have been increasingly breeding in many cities around the world, but it is still unclear whether urban habitats are of equal or higher quality than traditional natural habitats or represent an ecological trap with immediate reproductive benefits but longer-term detrimental consequences to health. Here we present a study of breeding parameters (nest density, egg dimensions, clutch size, hatching success and adult body condition) and physiological parameters (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, haemoglobin concentration and measurements of oxidative stress) as indicators of the general health condition of Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis adults and chicks from natural and urban colonies. Yellow-legged Gulls in the largest urban area (Porto) laid smaller eggs and clutches, showed a significantly lower occurrence of inflammatory processes in chicks, and showed a slower early chick growth than in the natural colony of Deserta. This suggests that urban gulls might be facing important trade-offs between the advantages of breeding in lower density urban colonies, with fewer intraspecific interactions and a lower disease transmission probability, and the disadvantages of having an anthropogenic diet usually lower in nutritional value.     

城市湿地公园使用者评价的影响因素及其行为偏好——以宜昌运河公园为例

城市湿地公园是城市水环境保护和市民活动的共同载体。如何达到保护城市水环境和满足使用者社会需求的平衡是本研究的关键问题。以景观绩效评价为基础,对宜昌运河公园的社会绩效进行了详细量化,并在调查结果上分析研究了影响城市湿地公园使用者评价的原因,以及在城市湿地公园内使用者的行为偏好和季节变化下使用者满意度和行为模式的变化情况,并提出了设计建议。结果表明,城市湿地公园的水环境治理目标与城市居民的公园服务需求是统一的。但是在公园生态和社会效益之间还是存在着冲突关系,如湿地面积和活动空间面积的权衡,消减河流污染物和维持公园水景质量的权衡以及湿地生境冬季景观效果不佳降低使用者满意度的情况。     

呼包鄂榆城市群生态系统服务价值驱动因素及其交互效应

增强呼包鄂榆城市群生态系统服务功能,对于推动黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展具有重要意义。基于研究区1990-2020年土地利用类型评价了生态系统服务价值(ESV),耦合随机森林模型与沙普利加性解释(SHAP)方法分析ESV驱动因素的重要程度、变化响应特征及其交互效应,采用偏最小二乘路径模型识别驱动因素的交互路径。结果表明:(1)研究期内耕地、草地和水域面积整体呈先增后减趋势,建设用地面积持续增加;ESV呈先减后增趋势且总体增加了62.28亿元,ESV的增长主要是林地向耕地和草地扩张的结果。(2)最主要的ESV驱动因素为土地利用类型,其贡献度达到61.24%,其次是地形和气象,贡献度分别为17.59%和17.05%,社会经济的贡献度最低,仅为1.73%;ESV对驱动因素的响应呈非线性变化特征。(3)水域比例是最重要的交互项,交互作用在因素处于不同范围内表现出不同的交互效应。土地利用直接影响ESV,而地形、气象、土壤和社会经济因素主要通过影响土地利用进而间接影响ESV,社会经济因素对ESV的直接和间接影响分别是负和正效应。研究建议通过完善城市群国土空间规划,重点加强草地、林地和水域等生态空间保护并协调好与城镇建设、矿产资源开发的关系,以提升生态系统服务功能为导向实施区域生态系统多因素协同管控。